Nautical Themed Birthday Outfit

I always loved those birthday kids that have the matching themed outfit for their special birthday party. I also know how to sew... of course I made my little boys birthday outfit!

The theme was nautical, and I loved the idea of blue, white and orange. I had purchased some nautical fabric awhile back and never used it. I kept it in the "I want to use for Jared" pile, but never found anything to make for him with that fabric. I then decided it would be perfect for his birthday outfit. I purchased some coordinating orange chevron fabric to go with his navy blue shirt and bib material.

To make the bib:
1) I printed out the letter J and the #1 from a font I liked on my word document.
2) I then traced them onto freezer paper, and cut those out.
3) I ironed the freezer paper cut outs onto the fabric, and traced with a washable pen.
4) I then carefully cut out the letter and number
5) I used double sided fusible interface (heat n bond makes one), ironed that onto the wrong side of the letter and number and cut that out.
6) I then removed the paper backing from the double sided interface, and ironed the J and 1 into place.
7) I appliqued with coordinating thread, and appliqued the "is" on the front of the bib.
8) I then sewed the front of the bib, to the back of the bib (right sides together), left a small hole, flipped the bib inside out, ironed it, top stitched and finished it off with a snap.

To make the shirt:
1) Using the same stencils as I used for the bib, but I enlarged them a little more.
2) I traced them onto freezer paper and cut them out.
3) I ironed the freezer paper cut outs onto the fabric of choice, and traced them onto the fabric with a washable pen.
4) I then cut out the J, anchor and 1 carefully.
5) I used double sided fusible interface and ironed it onto the wrong side of the fabric cut outs.
6) I then cut out the interface, took the paper backing off and ironed the J, anchor and 1 all into place.
7) With coordinating thread I appliqued the anchor first, stopping where it over laps.
8) I then appliqued with coordinating thread, around the J and 1.
9) I finished the shirt off with the "is" applique.

I then used the orange chevron fabric to make shorts for his outfit. You can see a tutorial on how to make pants HERE, just cut them shorter for shorts.

The finished outfit was soooo perfect, I loved it so much. He will be wearing this outfit for months, until I can't get him in them anymore.

The shorts are not that tight, he is sliding down my moms knee.

Please pin, or share this link.

Applique On,
Sarah

May Give Thanks, Week 3

May 15:
     Lots of cuddles from my kids today. Not sure if its growing, teeth, or just simply the day but thankful for all the wonderful cuddles!

May 16:
     Thankful its Friday! Yeah, I am just glad the week is over so we can have a family weekend. I love spending time together as a family, its the best. Yay for Friday!

May 17:
     My niece has arrived. Thankful for another beautiful baby girl to spoil. Leila Pitcher was born today and was a small 7lb 15oz baby. Can't wait to meet her.

May 18:
     Today I am thankful for a little sewing time to be able to finish up Jareds bib and shirt for his first birthday. Heres a little sneak peek:

May 19:
      Kind of sad but thankful I finished such an amazing series of books. I finished the Divergent series today and it was amazing. I am enjoying getting back into reading a little here and there (between my sewing projects.)

May 20:
      So happy and very thankful to have this project done. It will always be a work in progress and probably always will be. However, the boys are loving it and playing with it a ton.

May 21:
      My kiddos went to sleep in two different beds for nap time. I heard some laughing and went to get them from their beds, and found them in one bed. I am thankful they love each other this much, but im not sure the crib is big enough. They seemed happy though, so I guess im not complaining.

Give Thanks,
Sarah

DIY Mickey Mouse Birthday Shirt

If you saw the birthday post, you may have been waiting to see this post... How to make your own Birthday Shirt! I made a simple, step by step; with photos, tutorial. Its easy to follow, and easy to do. If you are a beginner, I would recommend maybe skipping the belt loops (on the suspenders), and just stitching the suspenders on by themselves. I hope you all enjoy this tutorial, and please leave any feedback or comments below!

First, you will need your typical sewing items.
1. Fabric
2. Heat N Bond (its the kind thats iron on, and double sided.)
3. Scissors, pencil, cutting board, iron, ironing board, pins, etc.
4. A shirt
5. Belt loops, silver D rings (1 Inch)
6. Matching thread.
7. Freezer paper
8. Your sewing machine, and all the usual items to sew.

To start you want to pick out fabric you like. I chose this red old classic like mickey and friends fabric as the tie. I then used the yellow in this fabric to match and purchased a small quarter of fabric. I also had black and white polka dot fabric on hand.

You will need to purchase these rings for the suspender piece, if you are advanced enough. If you are unsure you can sew these in, then skip this step. (in the photo it says 2inches, but I purchased a 1 inch ring).

Now using your freezer paper, cut out a long piece of it to fit where the tie would go. I ironed the shirt first to help get a smooth surface to use.

Start drawing out the tie. I started by tracing the neck line, and working from their. Mark where the middle is and that will help you trace the tie in the center of the shirt. (Use the tag on the back if the shirt to help find the center).

I then fold the freezer paper at the center and cut the tie out on the lines that I liked.

Once cut out, you should have something like this.

Unfold it and place it in the center of the neck.

Double check to make sure it fits, but don't iron it down yet.

Use another freezer paper and trace the bottom of the tie. This freezer paper will give you the idea of how big your number needs to be.

Using that template I traced out this two.

 I then double checked it with the tie.

Now I have all my pieces ready for their fabric.

I use the 2 and place it onto my yellow fabric. I then iron it down.

I back it with the heat and bond, iron that down and then cut all the pieces around the 2.

Carefully pull off the freezer paper from the front.

Move to the red fabric and using your freezer paper tie cut out, iron it down onto the red fabric.

Again back it with the heat n bond.

This is what you should now have after you cut it all out.

Pull the freezer paper off, again carefully.

Place the two where you want it and or like it. Take the backing off the 2 (heat n bond backing) and iron it into place.

Place all of it on the shirt, to double check placement, and trim anything that might need some trimming.

Move over to your sewing machine, set the stitch to a zig zag and decrease to width so the stitches are closer together. You will now have an applique stitch. If you have a hard time judging this, use a spare piece of fabric to test the widths and lengths. Once you stitch around the 2 your tie should look like this:

Iron your shirt if needed, I did this before hand and it was already flat.

Take the backing off the tie (heat n bond backing), careful when doing this as you have now stitched the 2 into place. Try not to pull any of those threads. Place the tie into place and iron it down.

Take your shirt over to the machine and again using your zig zag stitch with a smaller width, applique the tie down. Be careful and watch the back of your shirt, you don't want to accidentally sew it to the front. Reminder: Don't forget to change thread and bobbin to match the fabric. I used red for this, and yellow thread for the two.

Ta-da! You now have most of the work done!

Cut out your straps for the suspenders. I cut mine at 2 inches in width.

I then ironed the two sides in a half an inch. This gave the suspenders a clean edge to sew down.

You now need to sew the suspenders and belt rings into place.

I folded my bottom (fabric) pinned that at the hem of the shirt. I then pinned up half way, placed the D ring at that point and pinned the rest of the fabric. I cut the fabric about a half an inch from the top of the shirt. I then folded it down and pinned it into place.

When sewing the suspenders, start at the bottom of the shirt, stitch the bottom and then go up the shirt. Get as close to the D ring as possible. Carefully sew along the bottom of the D ring and then back down the other side of the suspenders. Continue sewing from the D ring and the top part of the suspenders. Make sure you sew both sides.

Do the same thing to the other side. Iron the hem, fold the fabric, pin onto the shirt, add the D ring, pin some more, cut the fabric, fold and pin.

Once you have sewn the second suspenders you should now have an adorable and perfect Birthday Shirt!!!

Now he should be ready for the party!

Now Get your Applique On,
Sarah

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Birthday Party

My son turned the big 2 this month. So of course we had to celebrate in style! I wanted to share all the ideas and decorations with everyone. Some of these ideas I found on pinterest, and others I just came up with on my own. I also made the cake and cupcakes. I did buy a lot more decorations then I normally do, because I threw my sister a baby shower the weekend before and all my decorating skills and cake making went into her party (as its her first child) and this was just my sons second birthday!

Enjoy!

Ill start with the decorations.

When you entered the door, I wanted to say "yes, the party is here"! I made this wreath by simply purchasing black and red ribbon (3inches in width), I hot glued at the starting point, wrapped around tightly, and hot glued at the end. I then cut out two yellow ovals, glued those on, and made a hanger for it with black ribbon. End result, a wreath that looks like Mickey Mouse!

I purchased this banner at Party City, as well as the streamers. I purchased these balloons at target, and blew them up myself. I did purchase balloons at Party City, which I will show you in a minute.

My son has a mickey in every size, and I borrowed this one for the day. We also purchased the hanging red plastic mickey streamer from Party City. They come in a package with several others, and I have to say I was shocked at how many actually came in the package! It was way more then I thought I would get.

Heres the rest of those steamer, plastic, Mickey themed items I purchased from Party City.

I have a horrible time actually sending out thank yous, so I made a small station (right next to the front door) and when everyone came in, I made them write their address on the card. This way all I have to do is write the thank you, add our address and send them off. (Now we wait and see how fast I get to them!) Oh and the party hats were purchased from target.

I purchased these balloons at Party City and placed them in the living room, behind the chairs and not in the way of the TV. My son is still playing with them even a week later!

Adding balloons to the presents table is a simple way to dress it up and it looks super cute when all the gifts are on it. Sorry I did not catch a photo of it with all the gifts. It looked cute though, will you just trust me?

This banner, over the kitchen was hand made. I personally cut out each letter, each mickey, and each circle. I then punched holes in the circles, glued on the mickey heads and glued on the letters. Once everything was dry I added the ribbon, and ta-da, its beautiful! Check out a quick and easy step by step tutorial HERE!

Note the letters are made to look like the writing from Disney/Disneyland.

This is a pinterest find. I used foam (from a craft store), cut out mickey heads, and purchased the clear bags. I headed over to Sams club, purchased an extremely large animal cracker container, tossed a few into the bags, folded them up and stapled the heads to the bags. The end result is awesome. You could add a note, saying thank you, or thanks for having toodles and oodles of fun! However, like I said before I just didn't have the time. I found these were a huge hit as even the adults liked them!

The dessert table is always the highlight at my kids parties! I purchased the balloons, the banners, and streamers all from Party City. I had the cupcake tiered stand on hand, and purchased the table cloth from Party City as well. The goody bags on the right I made from red bags (I believe I bought at target), cut out black construction paper, and yellow ovals, and then glued them all on. I only glued them on the front, and nothing on the back. You could spend the time and glue them on the back, but I just didn't have the time (or the construction paper). I purchased bubbles, candy, key chains, stickers, chalk, and pouched applesauce for the goodies. The kids loved them and I believe I only had one left for my son!

In the dining room, I put up streamers, balloons (some I blew up), and table cloths. It came out great, and this was by far my favorite room.

Once again the dessert table!

Lastly, my mother in law found the pinata at Party City and I have to say it was a huge HIT! (Get it, hit, haha). My son loved it! It took a ton of hits, and after I gave it three really strong hits it broke. These pinatas are made well, and I say totally worth the money!

Alright, now lets talk outfit.

I purchased the white long sleeve shirt from Walmart (practically the only place that sells blank shirts, anymore.) I then purchased some of the material for his shirt, as I had some of it at home. You can purchase fabric from Walmart, Joann's, or a fabric store in your local area. Once I had the material I cut everything out, and put it together. I will have a tutorial for it soon. So here he is in all his cuteness:

With Grandma.

Dirty and playing.

So excited to blow out his candles.

Lastly, I made his cake and cupcakes. I have been making cakes for awhile, and I seriously enjoy making them for my sons birthdays. I can not wait to make one for my youngest sons 1st birthday, this summer.

 Let me start with the cupcakes. I love to add cupcakes to all my parties. They are the perfect size for those small kid sizes mouths, or the mother/father/friend who wants something to eat, but doesn't want to over do it. I made both chocolate cupcakes with chocolate icing, and vanilla cupcakes with vanilla icing. I usually do some sort of collection of flavors, for those who prefer one over the other.

Note: Tiered stands help give the dessert (or food) table even more surface to add items to, as well as help give the table height and something visual to look at. I always recommend using a cupcake stand, or a tiered cake stand like this one.

I then made my brother in law a cake as well. His birthday was the day of my sons birthday party, so I made him a cute little personalized cake, just for him!

I kept his cake, still apart of the theme. This helps make it personal for him, but also keeps it from standing out too much! I even went over board and bought the 2 and 9 candles for kids, and used them side by side to say 29! It was a fun spin on it, and made it child like (to fit the theme)! I believe he liked it.

And of course, the main cake for the birthday boy. Its Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, like the actual clubhouse. We had purchased the figures as toys for my son about 2-5 months prior, as we just collected them as we saw them. Thankfully, by the party we had all 5 of the main characters. We still need Pluto, Claribel, and the Professor; so if anyone sees them, let me know!

 Side by side, you can see the clubhouse a little better.

The front of the cake, and hey look the goody bags too!

Right side.

Left side.

Well, thats it. That was the party, and we had a wonderful time. My son was extremely happy, and I think he enjoyed it a lot. I want to thank my Father in law, who cooked all morning long and made the best lunch (and dinner) ever! He also makes a great margarita! Yum! I want to say thank you to everyone who came out, it was a ton of fun, and I always love seeing the little ones!

Happy Birthday to my son,
Sarah